Chapter 4: Appreciative Inquiry in Coaching• Keep coaching conversations light, interesting, and...

Confidential of 31 9/1/2005

Chapter 4: Appreciative Inquiry in Coaching


Chapter 4

Appreciative Inquiry in Coaching

“You are never given a wish without also being given the power to make

it true.” Richard Bach

Chapter Contributor: Bob Tschannen-Moran

After reading this chapter, you will be able to:

• Name and discuss the five basic principles of Appreciative

Inquiry (AI)

• Name and discuss each stage within the 5-D Cycle of AI

• Demonstrate facility with the Appreciative Inquiry Protocol

• Demonstrate the skill of positive reframing within a coaching

conversation

• Use AI to facilitate the development of a client's positive vision

(or desired future) within a coaching conversation

• Use AI to co-create goals and action plans in the service of that

positive vision (or desired future) within a coaching conversation

• Keep coaching conversations light, interesting, and engaging

• Use AI to improve and transform the coaching relationship


T H E F I V E B A S I C P R I N C I P L E S O F A I

Appreciative inquiry is a philosophy, as well as an approach for

motivating change that focuses on exploring and amplifying strengths.

AI was developed initially in the late 1980’s as a transformational

change process for organizations and groups by David Cooperrider and

his colleagues in the Department of Organizational Behavior at the

Weatherhead School of Management, Case Western Reserve

University, Cleveland, Ohio, (Hammond, 1998, Cooperrider & Whitney,

2005, Whitney & Trosten-Bloom, 2003). It has since been adopted by

many other disciplines, including positive psychology, sociology, and

coaching, including health, fitness, and wellness coaching.

AI does not focus on weaknesses and problems to fix. Instead clients

are encouraged to acknowledge strengths and imagine possibilities in

order to rise above and outgrow their problems. Carl Jung, a 20th

century psychiatrist and founder of analytical psychology, describes the

process this way:

“The greatest and most important problems of life are all in a certain

sense insoluble…. They can never be solved, but only outgrown….

This ‘outgrowing’, as I formerly called it, on further experience was

seen to consist in a new level of consciousness. Some higher or

wider interest arose on the person’s horizon, and through this

widening of view, the insoluble problem lost its urgency. It was not

solved logically in its own terms, but faded out when confronted with

a new and stronger life-tendency.” (Jung, 1931, 1962, pp. 91f)


FIVE PRINCIPLES OF AI

Building upon Jung’s insights, Appreciative Inquiry offers five principles

that undergird its practice

1. The Positive Principle: Positive Actions & Outcomes stem from

Positive Energy and Emotion. The Positive Principle asserts that

positive energy and emotion disrupt downward spirals, building

the aspirations of people into a dynamic force for

transformational change. Positive energy and emotion broaden

thinking, expand awareness, increase abilities, build resiliency,

offset negatives, generate new possibilities, and create an

upward spiral of learning and growth.

How do we get that? By identifying, appreciating, and amplifying

strengths, people go beyond problem solving to bold shifts

forward. Demonstrating “why it’s good to feel good,” their actions

become positively charged and positive outcomes are evoked

(Frederickson, 2003).

The Positive Principle asserts that positive actions and outcomes

stem from the unbalanced force generated by positive energy

and emotion. Newton’s first law of motion states that objects at

rest tend to stay at rest while objects in motion tend to stay in

motion--unless acted upon by an unbalanced force. Applying this

law to human systems, the Positive Principle holds that the

negative energy and emotion associated with identifying,

analyzing, fixing or correcting weaknesses lacks sufficient force


to transform systems and propel them in new directions. At best,

such root-cause analyses will only correct the problems. At worst,

they will cause a downward spiral.

2. The Constructionist Principle: Positive Energy and Emotion stem

from Positive Conversations and Interactions. The

Constructionist Principle asserts that positive energy and emotion

are generated through positive conversations and interactions

with people, leading to positive actions and outcomes.

How do we get that? Through our conversations and interactions

with other people, we don’t just interpret and understand the

world of experience; we also create the reality in which we live.

“Words create worlds” is the motto of AI in general and the

Constructionist Principle in particular.

More than any of the other five principles, the Constructionist

Principle makes clear the importance of the social context and

environment in creating the present moment and changing future

moments. Inner work and self-talk alone are not sufficient.

Different environments generate different truths and different

possibilities. They even generate different dimensions of

individual experience. As Rosamund Stone Zander and Benjamin

Zander (2000 p.12) summarize the Constructionist Principle: “It’s

all invented! So we might as well invent a story or framework of

meaning that enhances our quality of life and the lives of those

around us.” We invent those stories and frameworks together, in

conversation with others.


3. The Simultaneity Principle: Positive Conversations and

Interactions stem from Positive Questions and Reflections. The

Simultaneity Principle makes the following, astonishing claim:

conversations and interactions become positive the instant we

ask a positive question, tell a positive story, or share a positive

reflection. Positive questions and reflections are themselves the

change we seek. They are not just a prelude to change; they are

change. They don’t just begin a process that leads to a positive

future. Rather, they simultaneously create a positive present.

How do we get that? By shifting our conversations and

interactions in a positive direction, we simultaneously create a

positive present. These positive conversations create the worlds

in which we live and work.

Our questions and reflections are fateful. “There are no ‘neutral’

questions,” writes Jacqueline Bascobert Kelm (2005, p. 54).

“Every inquiry takes us somewhere, even if it is back to what we

originally believed. Inhabiting this spirit of wonder can transform

our lives, and the unconditional positive question is one of the

greatest tools we have to this end.”

4. The Anticipatory Principle: Positive Questions and Reflections

stem from Positive Anticipation of the Future. The Anticipatory

Principle asserts that when we anticipate a positive future,

everything tilts in that direction. Positive anticipation of the future

is a proleptic force that energizes the present.

The word prolepsis literally means “a forward look.” The

Anticipatory Principle asserts that it takes a specific, positive


image of the future in order to impact the dynamics of the

present. The more concrete and real the image, the more

yearning and movement it creates. According to Warren Bennis

and Burt Nanus “Vision is a target that beckons” (1985, p. 89).

Margaret Wheatley describes vision as a field (1999, pp. 53ff). As

such, it is “a power, not a place, an influence, not a destination.”

It is best served, then, by imbuing the present with “visionary

messages matched by visionary behaviors.” Anticipation

becomes the hallmark and herald of change.

How do we get that? Equipped with a glimpse of what things look

like at their very best, we become more creative, resourceful, and

resilient, finding ways to make things happen. Our questions and

reflections flow from the outlook we hold. In the absence of hope,

it’s hard to seek out what we want, much less celebrate what we

get.

5. The Poetic Principle: Positive Anticipation of the Future stems

from Positive Attention in the Present. The Poetic Principle

asserts that the more we attend to the positive dimensions of the

present moment, the more positive will be our intentions for

future moments. When we focus on problems, we get more

problems. When we focus on possibilities, we get more

possibilities.

How do we get that? By seeing and attending to life’s poetry, we

become inspired. It’s not that problems disappear. Rather, other

things become more important. That’s because we get more of

what we focus on. Life’s poetry evolves into a spiral of positive

imagination.


Forming the base of a pyramid, upon which all the other

principles are built (see below), the Poetic Principle connects

hope with mindfulness, and intention with attention. Becoming

mindful of what adds richness, texture, depth, beauty,

significance, and energy to life awakens us to life’s magnificent

potential. It’s as though life becomes a work of great poetry, filled

with hopeful meaning and forward movement toward positive

growth and change.

David Whyte captures the heart of this Principle, and of all the AI

Principles, in his poem, “Loaves and Fishes” (1997, p. 88):

This is not the age of information.

This is not the age of information.

Forget the news and the radio and the blurred screen.

This is the time of loaves and fishes.

People are hungry, and one good word is bread for a thousand.


The image of a pyramid illustrates how these principles are related to each

other and work together to generate positive actions and outcomes

(Figure1).

T H E 5 - D C Y C L E O F A I

The five AI Principles have resulted in the development of a

transformational change process that works with large groups, as well

as with individuals. Although the process has been described in various

ways, the 5-D Cycle (Define-Discover-Dream-Design-Destiny) is the

most common and easily remembered (Watkins & Mohr, 2001).

Positive Attention in the Present (Poetic Principle)

Positive Anticipation of the Future (Anticipatory Principle)

Positive Questions & Reflections (Simultaneity Principle)

Positive Conversations & Interactions (Constructionist Principle)

Positive Actions & Outcomes

Positive Energy & Emotion (Positive Principle)


1. Define. The process starts by securing an agreement between

coach and client as to what the client wants to learn (topic

choice) and how the client wants to learn it (method choice). The

effectiveness of the AI process depends upon the agreement

being both clear and appropriate.

IMPORTANT

Some people may not be ready, willing, or able to implement a

strengths-based approach to transformational change. Get a

sense of this by noticing how much they want to talk about their

problems and their pains. Express empathy (see Chapter 5) to

move the conversation forward. In the absence of forward

movement, after a reasonable amount of time, clients may do

better with a therapist or counselor.

2. Discover. Once the learning agreement is clear, the next step is

to assist clients in discovering promising examples of their

desired outcomes, both past and present. AI makes the

assumption that, in every person’s life and situation, some things

are always working, even though they may be buried and need to

be unearthed. Life-giving examples, images, and stories that

support the learning agreement can always be discovered.

To facilitate the discovery process, AI has developed an

Appreciative Interview Protocol that can be adapted and used by

coaches at any point during the coaching process. It is

particularly effective when clients are discouraged or stuck. The

Protocol includes four discoveries:


• Best Experience. “Tell me about your best experience with

this area of your wellness, a time when you felt most alive and

engaged. What made it so exciting? Who was there?

Describe the experience in detail.”

• Core Values. “Tell me about the things you value most

deeply, things about yourself, your relationships, and your

work. Without being modest, who are you when you are at

your best?”

• Generative Conditions. “Tell me about the core, life-giving

factors in your experience. What are the key ingredients, both

internal and external, that enable you to be at your best and

to have fun?”

• Three Wishes. “Tell me about your hopes and dreams for the

future. If you found a magic lamp and a genie were to grant

you three wishes, what would they be?”

The purpose of these discoveries is to strengthen the energy and

self-efficacy of clients through the vivid reconnaissance of

mastery experiences. The more direct, personal, and relevant the

mastery experiences the greater their impact on a client’s

motivation for and approach to change.

IMPORTANT

The Discovery phase of AI can be viewed as the most important

phase. It elevates self-confidence and lays the foundation for all

that follows. That’s why it’s so important to not rush through the

discovery process in order to get to goal setting. The Simultaneity


Principle makes clear that asking appreciative questions is not a

prelude to the work of coaching; it is the work of coaching. Inquiry

into what happens when we function at our best is

transformational in and of itself. It not only forms the basis for

change, it is the change we seek.

3. Dream. Once clients have discovered the best of “what is,” it is

time to help them envision the best of “what might be.” The

discoveries of the last phase are utilized to create a dream that is

grounded in the client’s history, as it expands the client’s

potential. Moving beyond the level of three magical wishes to the

level of realistic, yet provocative, propositions about the future,

the dream will be even larger than the client would otherwise

have imagined without the discovery phase having been done.

In the dream-making process, AI encourages the use of both left-

brain and right-brain activities. The Poetic Principle goes beyond

the limitations of analysis by utilizing stories, narratives,

metaphors, and images to make dreams come alive.

Several considerations impact the dream-making process. The

first is the question of a calling: What is life calling our client to

be? The second is the question of energy: What possibilities

generate excitement for our client? The third is the question of

support: What is the positive core that supports our client?

When the dream becomes a target that beckons and an

anticipatory field that surrounds and supports a client’s best self,

it is time to move on to design.


4. Design. The design phase of the AI process gives the dream legs

by working to align the client’s infrastructure with the dream.

Clients are asked to make proposals and set goals as to how the

dream would manifest itself in terms of habits, procedures,

systems, technology, roles, resources, relationships, finances,

structures, and stakeholders. What would shift if the client’s

infrastructure were aligned with the dream? Describing those

shifts in detail is the fundamental work of the design phase.

It is important to make the design phase as detailed and personal

as possible. Encouraging clients to make commitments, offers,

and requests with a close horizon, say one to two weeks, is

relevant to both this and the final phase of the process.

• Commitments represent actions that clients promise to

take in response to the requests of others.

• Offers represent actions that clients volunteer to take.

• Requests represent actions that clients seek from others

in order to successfully implement the design.

5. Destiny. The purpose of Appreciative Inquiry is to elevate both

the energy and self-efficacy of clients, in order to assist them in

realizing their destiny. It is not just a feel-good process. It is also

an action process that makes dreams come true – and makes

dreaming intrinsic to the client’s way of being in the world. By

developing an “appreciative eye,” clients learn to make the 5-D

Cycle their preferred approach to problems and opportunities in

order to fulfill their destiny. They learn to continuously innovate

their way to ever higher levels of performance and life

satisfaction.


IN SUMMARY

AI is a valuable tool for energizing, motivating, and mobilizing a client

toward behavior change. It starts with the presumption that anything is

possible (the Constructionist Principle) and then employs a

methodology (the 5-D Cycle) to help clients make it happen, thus

elevating both self-esteem and self-efficacy. The increases in self-

esteem and self-efficacy lead naturally to the dream, design, and

destiny phases. When done correctly, the mounting energy and

motivation for change generated by the discovery phase of the AI

process are palpable. The anticipatory consideration of best

experiences, core values, generative conditions, and heartfelt wishes,

through a vivid investigation of past and present, increases the client’s

readiness, willingness, and ability to move forward into the future. “Now

what?” and “How do we get going?” are the operative questions of the

later phases. AI generates an expansive, upward spiral that enables

clients to successfully mount the behavior change pyramid (see Chapter

3). By going through the Cycle multiple times, clients and coaches

create dreams and designs beyond those initially imagined possible.

AI emphasizes life-giving experiences, core values, generative

conditions, and heartfelt wishes as it energizes people and

organizations to learn to make new contributions and to express new

ways of being in the world. That is the stuff of destiny. The challenge is

to enable clients not only to deliver on their promises, but also to go

beyond them. This happens when clients learn to experiment, innovate,

and improvise, so that they can take bigger, bolder, and better actions in


the service of their dreams. Designs require continuous learning,

dialogue, and updating in order to be fulfilled and fulfilling (Figure 2).

The following diagram illustrates how the 5-D Cycle of AI generates a

spiral dynamic of transformational change around a positive core:

Using Appreciative Inquiry in Coaching

The Appreciative Interview Protocol is a great place to start, especially

when clients do not have a clear focus. It can kindle the embers of

desire until the fire is burning bright. It can also support specific client

1. Define “What is the focus?”

(Aspiring, focusing, and clarifying) Clarifying

4. Design “How can it be?”

(Brainstorming, aligning, and choosing)

Co-constructing

2. Discover “What gives life?”

(Recognizing, valuing, and celebrating) Appreciating

PPoossiittiivvee CCoorree

5. Destiny “What will be?”

(Experimenting, learning, and integrating)

Innovating

3. Dream “What might be?”

(Imagining, calling, and embodying) Envisioning


learning and development. For example, instead of asking clients for a

generic best-experience story related to health and wellness, ask them

for a best-experience story that is specifically related to their positive

vision (or desired future). Such targeted learning from a positive frame

can dramatically accelerate the behavior-change process.

AI can be used week after week in coaching conversations, since

people always have new experiences, values, conditions, and wishes to

talk about. Instead of starting a coaching call by asking, “So how did it

go since the last time we met?” ask a more positive opening question

that utilizes AI, such as, “So what was your best experience (or your

best learning experience) since the last time we met?” The coach may

change the time frame or shift the focus, but should always stay in a

positive frame (New & Rich-New, 2003).

IMPORTANT

Even when people bring seemingly intractable problems to the coaching

conversation, it is important to help them look at things through an

appreciative frame and a fascinating light. All situations have beauty

and value, no matter how difficult. “Tell me a story about the best

experience you have had dealing with such problems in the past,” is an

example of a way to reframe deficits into assets. Such stories assist

clients in remembering that their lives are not problems to be solved but

mysteries to be lived, and can instantly their marshal client

concentration and energy.


Although coaching is important, serious work, the successful coach

keeps the process light and fun. The principles and practices of AI allow

coaches to do just that. The coach who endeavors to stay positive,

anticipate greatness, reframe reality, evoke insight, and share stories

(the five principles), enables clients to experience coaching as bringing

out the best in them, rather than the worst. Through the processes of

defining ambitions, discovering strengths, dreaming possibilities,

designing strategies, and delivering the goods (the five practices), both

coach and client alike have their spirits energized and lifted. The issues

may be weighty, but the process of AI can lighten the load in the course

of moving forward. Using humor, laughter, and playfulness in AI

energizes the behavior-change process so that solutions expand in

scope, sustainability, and effectiveness.

AI requires clients to utilize a mixture of left-brain / analytic activities and

right-brain / creative activities. It is not enough to encourage clients to

identify and commit to SMART goals (goals that are Specific,

Measurable, Actionable, Realistic, and Time-lined see Chapter 8). No

matter how well-crafted the strategy, a purely analytic approach will fail

if it is not supplemented by a process that engages the client’s heart

and stirs the client’s imagination. SMART goals must also be compelling

goals.

To this end, AI encourages clients to be creative by imagining,

articulating, and designing their dreams for the future. Clients can use

pictures, images, metaphors, art, movement, music, and/or stories (the

Poetic Principle). The more creative the dreams the better, when it

comes to making the case and generating the energy for change.


Clients often enjoy the invitation to use their whole selves in the

development of their dreams and designs for the future. There is no end

to what they will come up with once they have the permission and

encouragement to get creative (e.g. changing body position, drawing

pictures, modeling clay, standing on tables, stepping over lines, writing

poetry, ringing bells, singing songs, stretching muscles, controlling

breath, telling stories, shouting affirmations, imagining visualizations).

Creative techniques can be introduced on the telephone, as well as in

person.

IMPORTANT

If we coach without paying attention to the larger dynamics, we are

coaching less than half the situation. AI avoids such fragmented

interventions by recognizing the totality of the whole. For example, one

of the more impactful consequences of the Constructionist Principle for

coaching is in the area of self-improvement. People do not change by

themselves, solely from the inside out. Rather, change also happens

from the outside in, as we engage in conversation with others. Because

self-improvement is influenced by relationships, it’s very important to

use AI to open up the conversation to include environments, systems,

communities, organizations, networks, movements, relationships,

processes, policies, practices, structures, and resources.

It is tempting to think that the outcome of using AI in coaching is a clear

plan with detailed next steps. While that is often the case, it is not the


only or ultimate outcome. AI sets in motion an appreciative and

innovative approach to lifelong learning. The Destiny phase of the 5-D

Cycle has been described as going back around the Cycle, again and

again, in perpetuity. When clients learn to Define-Discover-Dream-

Design, Define-Discover-Dream-Design, Define-Discover-Dream-

Design as their way of being in the world, they end up realizing their

Destiny as they grow into their best selves. The 5-D Cycle is not just a

tool or technique for coaches to master. It is also – and most importantly

– a way of living. By using and sharing AI with our clients, we empower

lifelong upward spirals of personal and organizational development.

Solving Problems the AI Way: A Strengths-based Approach

It is human nature to notice, analyze, and solve problems. But that does

not necessarily make it the best or most effective strategy to use.

Indeed, tackling problems head on often provokes discouragement and

resistance rather than fostering encouragement and readiness to

change.

This insight is what led to the development of AI as a way of solving

problems through the back door. Instead of tackling problems head on,

AI assists clients to outgrow problems through engaging in new and

stronger life urges. In the process, problems that once seemed

overwhelming and intractable lose their energy and sometimes even

fade from view.

When working within the framework of AI, it is important to keep the

following in mind:


“You have what it takes to succeed.”

This is the posture of great coaching. If we do not believe in the

ambitions and innate abilities of our clients, we cannot assist them in

becoming successful in achieving their health, fitness, or wellness

vision. If we find ourselves questioning our clients’ desires and

capabilities, and do not believe they have what it takes to succeed, then

it may be time to refer them to another coach or a helping professional.

“My certainty is greater than your doubt.”

Great coaches come from this framework – but know that it is better not

to directly make this argument to their clients. We provoke skepticism

and resistance when we attempt to persuade clients that they can do

something (see Chapter 5). We evoke confidence and movement when

we stay with clients in the muck until they become clear about where

they want to go, how they want to get there, and how they will generate

the energy. Great coaching communicates a calm energy of confidence

that clients can build on and learn from.

Speak the truth in love.

Without falling into the trap of arguing for change, it is important for

coaches to honestly share what they see. If there is an elephant in the

room and the client fails to notice, it may be time for the client to hear

the coach speak the truth in love. The energy for change is not created

by naïve or delusional self-appraisals. Clients not being fully engaged,


not being honest with themselves, not following through on their

promises, not working hard, and not making progress may benefit from

coaches reflecting these perceptions. Returning to the 5-D Cycle is

another way to encourage the client to move forward.

Use AI to handle a client’s self-sabotage.

Avoid “wrestling” with clients who are not meeting their goals or

following through on their promises week after week. Instead, use the 5-

D Cycle to make sure the goals and promises are exciting to the client,

and appropriately scaled to the client’s capacity. Setting goals or making

promises because they would be “good for the client,” represent

something the client “should” do, or are designed to “please the coach”

will generally fail over time. Setting goals or making promises which

stretch the client’s capacities must include appropriate, capacity-building

strategies in order to be stimulating and effective.

IMPORTANT:

If you cannot assist a client to move forward, and you are sure you are

not provoking resistance, you may be dealing with client issues that go

deeper than coaching can resolve. If so, it may be time to make a

therapeutic referral. To determine if a referral is indicated, you may want

to take the following steps:

1. Honestly share your perception of the situation using perceptive

reflections and open-ended questions. For example, you might


say “You may be getting in the way of your own success here.

What do you think is going on?”

2. If the client is taking responsibility for what is going on, you can

return to the 5-D Cycle of AI to generate new goals and

promises. Be sure to consider the client’s readiness to change. If

clients are in the precontemplation or contemplation stages, then

thinking/feeling goals are more appropriate than action goals.

The 5-D Cycle will make this clear as it bolsters the client’s

energy and self-efficacy for achieving desired outcomes.

3. If the client is denying responsibility for what is going on, you

might say, “There may be things going on here that are hurting

your motivation which I’m not qualified to handle.” Recommend

that the client see a therapist or join a support group. The client

can work with both a coach and a therapist concurrently, or can

return to coaching after resolving the issue in therapy.

4. Clients who fail to obtain outside help and/or to participate fully in

a coaching program after appropriate intervention may not be in

a space where they can work productively within a coaching

relationship. Letting go of uncooperative clients who are unwilling

or unable to work on their deeper issues is in everyone’s best

interest.


Coach the client and the environment

Designing environments to be supportive of a client’s goals and

promises is essential for client success. A strength-based approach to

coaching does not work in isolation from a client’s environment. Indeed,

the design phase of AI makes clear the importance of whole-system

frameworks, including various internal/external and individual/collective

dynamics.

In the design phase of the 5-D Cycle, the role of the coach is to make

sure that a client does not overlook or ignore any aspect of the system.

For example, the client may need to learn new skills, modify his or her

environment in order to eliminate triggers, or gather social support.

Friends, colleagues, and relatives can provide emotional support,

practical support, partnering, or listening ears. Examples include:

• Exercising with someone

• Phoning someone daily or several times a week

• Reporting progress regularly to someone

• Eating with someone and gaining support for health-supporting

choices

• Sharing goals, food logs, exercise goals

• Joining a gym with a friend or spouse

• Having a spouse watch the kids while the client exercises

Often clients’ behaviors can be changed if they can observe or track

others with similar goals taking the necessary steps toward a goal. For

example, an overweight client who wants to start a walking program


may find it easier to start if s/he sees other overweight people walking

on a regular basis or engages in an email dialogue with another

overweight person on the same path.

Sometimes encouraging clients to join support groups, such as Weight

Watchers or Overeaters Anonymous, can reinforce what they are

learning through coaching.

Online chat rooms, mailing lists, and bulletin boards can be helpful in

gathering support, especially when clients don't have other people to

support them or if they don't wish to reveal their issues to friends and

colleagues. Advise clients however, to watch out, for unproven diets,

weight-loss gimmicks, and unreliable advice.

Stay in a positive frame.

As we have already said, it is human nature to notice and focus on

problems. That’s why news headlines tend to focus on tragedies,

terrorism, and scandals. Bad news sells papers. The 5-D Cycle of AI

shifts the spotlight away from train wrecks and onto the positive aspects

of the past, present, and future. When clients drift into an analysis of

past or present failures, it is important to gently but firmly bring them

back to an appreciative frame. Acknowledge the problem and then invite

them to look at it from a different perspective. Two questions you may

want to ask to make the shift from a traditional problem solving

approach are: “How did this make a positive contribution to your

development?” and “How else could you describe this situation?” When

the coach stays in a positive frame, the client will eventually follow. By


using the generic Interview Protocol, it is possible to quicken the interest

of clients in the life-affirming and life-giving dimensions of their own

experience.

It is “trial and correction” not “trial and error.”

Trial and correction, rather than trial and error, underlies AI. The

process is analogous to the near-universal human learning experience

of learning how to walk. Those first, few, tentative baby steps occur after

months of watching other people walk upright. These role models

awaken in toddlers the desire and ambition to walk, and, at the

appropriate developmental moment, begin to encourage them. They

stand the toddlers upright, hold their hands, and move them forward.

With outstretched arms, they cheer and cajole until the brave

youngsters take their first, unsupported steps.

No one teaches toddlers how to walk. They don’t have the

biomechanics explained to them. They figure it out for themselves in a

gradual process of trial and correction. After the first steps, toddlers

inevitably fall down. This does not provoke criticism or condemnation.

No one takes it as a failure. On the contrary, toddlers are cheered on,

encouraged to try again and again until they master the art.

Enabling clients to loosen up and experiment with different strategies,

without the fear of failure, is the essential work not only of AI, but also of

coaching. Brainstorming provocative possibilities utilizing the 5-D Cycle

is one way to make that happen. Such possibilities can be provocative,


in part, because it is unknown whether or not they will work. Only time

will tell through the process of trial and correction.

IMPORTANT:

Don’t be lured into creating provocative possibilities for the client. “The

client finds the answers. The client finds the answers. The client finds

the answers.” Encourage clients to generate their own possibilities by

thinking outside the box, without regard to consequences. After clients

have done the work, coaches may or may not offer to put additional

ideas on the table for consideration. In every instance, the client retains

the choice in creating the dream, design, and destiny.

Sharing stories with each other is a great way to incorporate the

richness of “trial and correction” into the coaching conversations. Stories

have a way of inducing people to discover and discern their own

meanings and movement. Like a toddler watching people walk, when

we listen to each other’s stories, our ambition awakens, evoking the

motivation for change.

Remind clients of their progress.

Clients easily lose sight of their progress when they have setbacks or

don't reach their goals as quickly as they wish. Keep reminding them of

past progress, no matter how much or little they have made. For

example: "Three months ago, you couldn't walk a mile! Give yourself

credit!" or "Before we started, you wouldn't have even noticed that the

restaurant meal was high in calories. You're more conscious of those


issues now, and your body is used to lighter food. Let’s celebrate that!"

Remember, masterful coaches champion their clients in each and every

conversation.

Making the Coaching Program Interesting

It is important to keep coaching sessions interesting by adding variety,

changing approaches, using humor, surprising clients, or going the extra

mile in your communications and actions. Using the Appreciative

Interview Protocol is always interesting, since it brings out the best in

your clients and encourages learning in an interesting and informative

way.

Here are a few specific ways to make coaching sessions more fun and

interesting:

• Ask the client, “What’s the best thing that has happened to you

since the last time we talked?”

• If on the phone, look at yourself in a mirror to be sure you are

smiling while you are coaching.

• Encourage clients to suggest new activities, approaches, and

rewards, “just for fun.”

• Surprise clients with an email or card suggesting a new idea or

approach.

• Periodically assist clients in changing their routines.

• Find ways to spice up the session with new information or

assessments.


• Help clients reignite their “inner fire” and motivation by recalling

motivators.

• End the session by asking, “What’s the best thing that happened

during this conversation?”

Using AI to Transform the Coaching Relationship

Since coaching promotes client development within a learning

partnership, it is important for coaches to solicit feedback from clients.

Many clients need permission to honestly share their feelings and

wishes about the coaching experience. The Appreciative Interview

Protocol can be modified to encourage honest sharing and elicit

feedback through a positive frame. For example, at periodic intervals

during the coaching program, you may want to ask the following

questions:

• “What’s the best experience you have had so far through the

coaching process?”

• "What are the values you most often see me modeling as a

coach?"

• "What conditions have most helped you reach your goals and

move forward?"

• "If a genie were to grant you three wishes regarding our coaching

relationship, what would they be?

Feedback solicited through this appreciative frame is quite different from

criticism. By focusing on positive, life-giving experiences, values,

conditions, and wishes, both coach and client are empowered to be


honest, and to make the coaching relationship as productive and as

enjoyable as possible.

Review and Discussion Questions

1. What are the five basic principles of Appreciative Inquiry? Give a brief

explanation of each principle.

2. What is the 5-D cycle of AI? Describe each of the five “D’s.”

3. Why is it important that the coach not rush through the discovery

process?

4. Define reframing. Give an example.

5. If in using AI a coach cannot assist a client to move forward, (and if

the coach is certain s/he is not provoking client resistance), what should

the coach do?

6. How can the coach keep the coaching process light and fun for

clients and why is that important if the client is to be successful?

7. AI encourages the coach to think of problem solving through strength

building rather than analyzing and “tackling problems head on”. Explain

what that statement means and how to do that in the coaching

conversation.


References

Bennis, W. & Nanus, B. (1985). Leaders: The strategies for taking

charge. New York, NY: Harper & Row, Publishers.

Cooperrider, D.L. & Whitney, D. (2005). Appreciative inquiry: A positive

revolution in change. San Francisco, CA: Berrett-Koehler

Communications, Inc.

Frederickson, B. L. (2003). “The value of positive emotions: The

emerging science of positive psychology is coming to understand

why it’s good to feel good,” American Scientist, 91, 330.

Hammond, S.A. (1998). The thin book of appreciative inquiry. Bend,

OR: Think Book Publishing Co.

Jung, C.G. in Wilhelm, R. (1931, 1962). The secret of the golden flower:

A Chinese book of life. San Diego, CA: Harcourt Harvest Books.

Kelm, J.B. (2005). Appreciative living: The principles of appreciative

inquiry in personal life. Wake Forest, NC: Venet Publishers.

New, B. & Rich-New, K. (2003). Looking for the good stuff. Cape

Canaveral, FL: Carity Works!


Watkins, J.M. & Mohr, B.J. (2001) Appreciative inquiry: Change at the

speed of imagination. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass/Pfeiffer.

Wheatley, M.J. (1999). Leadership and the new science. San Francisco,

CA: Berrett-Koehler Communications, Inc.

Whitney, D. & Trosten-Bloom, A. (2003). The power of appreciative

inquiry: A practical guide to positive change. San Francisco, CA:

Berrett-Koehler Communications, Inc.

Whyte, D. (1997). The house of belonging. Langley, WA: Many Rivers

Press.

Zander, R.S. & Zander, B. (2000). The art of possibility. New York, NY:

Penguin Putnam Inc.

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